After the cancellation of the user meeting in 2020, the EMFL Board of Directors undertook a fresh start this year. Organized by HLD, the twelfth user meeting of the European magnetic field laboratories took place on June 15, 2021 in video format. With up to 140 participants of the high-field community logged in to join the virtual venue, it was exceptionally well attended. The aim of the meeting was to exchange ideas and experiences, to present scientific results, and to discuss about possibilities for improving the facilities’ attractiveness. The meeting started with a warm welcome by Peter Christianen, chair of the EMFL Board of Directors and director of the HFML. After the announcement of and presentation by the EMFL prize winner (see separate article on the next page) the audience enjoyed eight excellent invited talks from selected users reporting on recent scientific highlights done at EMFL facilities. Further, there were introductory talks on the EU-funded projects ISABEL by Geert Rikken and SuperEMFL by Xavier Chaud, important for the future development of EMFL.
As usual, the EMFL User Committee met during the meeting. Raivo Stern (NICPB, Tallinn, Estonia) chaired this part and reported afterwards on the outcome of the meeting and on suggestions of the Committee back to the Board of Directors. The virtual user meeting ran very smoothly and was well received by the participants. However, the common coffee breaks, chats with colleagues, tours through the lab, and direct interactions were missing. We very much hope that the next user meeting will take place in person in Grenoble next June. We plan to provide remote access to this meeting.
©EMFL
